Principal Inertial Navigation & IMU Subject Matter Expert

Integrated Sol for Sys Inc; Auburn, Northern (AL, KY); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Health benefits

Employee ownership

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Integrated Sol for Sys Inc. in Auburn, AL, seeks a Principal Inertial Navigation and IMU SME to lead the evaluation, integration, and qualification of advanced positioning and timing solutions for military aviation.

The role requires deep expertise in IMUs, gyroscopes, and navigation systems, with experience across the lifecycle from requirements to fielded systems, and a focus on GPS/GNSS-denied navigation scenarios.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, aerospace, mechanical engineering, physics, applied mathematics or related field.
• 10+ years of experience with IMUs, inertial navigation systems, or related tech.
• Proficiency with navigation-grade/tactical IMUs and related systems.

Responsibilities

• Serve as SME for inertial sensors, IMUs, and navigation systems across the lifecycle.
• Lead IMU selection activities, evaluations, and technology trade studies.
• Assess IMU performance, bias, drift, scale-factor error, and environmental sensitivity.
• Support GPS/GNSS-denied navigation and integration with navigation processors and Kalman filters.
• Develop and review requirements, interface docs, and test/verification criteria.
• Plan lab, hardware-in-the-loop, environmental, and flight-test activities.
• Mentor engineering staff and coordinate across multidisciplinary teams.

Skills

Inertial navigation

IMUs

Gyroscopes

Accelerometers

Kalman filtering

Navigation-system analysis

Environmental qualification

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

MATLAB

Simulink

Python

Job description

Auburn, AL

Position Summary

IS4S is seeking a Principal Inertial Navigation and InertialMeasurement Unit (IMU) Subject Matter Expert to support the development,integration, evaluation, and qualification of advanced positioning, navigation,and timing solutions for military aviation applications.

The successful candidate will serve as a technical authorityfor navigation-grade and high-performance tactical-grade IMUs used primarily onmanned military aircraft. Direct experience developing, manufacturing,qualifying, or delivering IMUs or inertial navigation systems is stronglydesired.

Experience with Ring Laser Gyro (RLG)-based systems ispreferred. Candidates with significant Fiber Optic Gyro (FOG) experience willalso receive strong consideration.

Key Responsibilities

• Serveas the technical subject matter expert for inertial sensors, IMUs,inertial navigation systems, and integrated navigation solutions.
• Providetechnical leadership throughout the IMU and navigation-system lifecycle,including requirements development, architecture, design, integration,calibration, verification, qualification, production, and fielded-systemsupport.
• Evaluatenavigation-grade and tactical-grade IMUs for suitability across mannedmilitary aviation platforms.
• Leador support IMU selection activities, technical evaluations, marketresearch, alternatives analyses, and technology trade studies.
• Assessgyro and accelerometer technologies, error sources, calibrationapproaches, navigation performance, reliability, producibility, andsuitability for specific military aircraft applications.
• AnalyzeIMU performance characteristics, including:
  • Gyroand accelerometer bias
  • Biasstability and repeatability
  • Scale-factorerror
  • Misalignmentand cross-axis sensitivity
  • Anglerandom walk and velocity random walk
  • Noiseand drift
  • Temperaturesensitivity
  • Vibrationand environmental effects
• Assessnavigation performance during GPS/GNSS degradation or denial, includingfree-inertial, blended, and coasting performance.
• Supportthe integration of IMUs with GPS/GNSS receivers, navigation processors,Kalman filters, mission computers, and other navigation-aiding sources.
• Developand review technical requirements, performance specifications,interface-control documentation, verification criteria, qualificationstrategies, test plans, and technical reports.
• Planand support laboratory, hardware-in-the-loop, ground, environmental,qualification, and flight-test activities.
• Analyzetest and flight data, identify performance shortfalls, determine rootcauses, and recommend corrective actions.
• Evaluatesupplier designs, technical proposals, product roadmaps, manufacturingapproaches, and claimed system performance.
• Supportthe resolution of technical and production issues involving inertialsensors, electronics, embedded software, navigation algorithms,calibration, or system-level integration.
• Supporttechnical reviews, trade studies, design reviews, test-readiness reviews,qualification reviews, and customer technical interchange meetings.
• Communicatecomplex navigation concepts, technical risks, and recommended solutions toengineering teams, program leadership, customers, and governmentstakeholders.
• Mentorengineering personnel and provide technical guidance acrossmultidisciplinary teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’sdegree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanicalengineering, physics, applied mathematics, or a related technical field.
• Atleast 10 years of relevant professional experience with IMUs, inertialnavigation systems, integrated navigation solutions, or closely relatedtechnologies.
• Demonstratedproficiency with navigation-grade and/or high-performance tactical-gradeIMUs.
• Strongknowledge of gyroscopes, accelerometers, inertial-navigation principles,sensor-error modeling, calibration, and navigation-performance analysis.
• Experiencesupporting IMUs or inertial navigation systems intended for militaryaviation or comparably demanding aerospace applications.
• Experienceintegrating IMUs into embedded, airborne, military, or othersafety-critical navigation systems.
• Experiencewith GPS/GNSS-aided inertial navigation and navigation-filter concepts.
• Abilityto assess gyro and accelerometer performance, including bias, drift,scale-factor error, noise, misalignment, environmental sensitivity, andreliability.
• Abilityto interpret and develop technical requirements, performancespecifications, interface-control documentation, test procedures, andverification criteria.
• Strongtechnical writing, presentation, and customer-facing communication skills.
• Abilityto work effectively with systems, hardware, software, integration, test,manufacturing, and platform engineering teams.
• U.S.citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain the security clearancerequired for the position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Directexperience working for an IMU or inertial navigation-system manufacturer,or in a comparable role involving the design, development, production,qualification, or delivery of navigation-grade IMUs.
• Directexperience developing, producing, qualifying, or serving as a technicalauthority for Ring Laser Gyro-based IMUs or inertial navigation systems.
• Significantexperience with Fiber Optic Gyro-based IMUs or inertial navigationsystems.
• Experiencesupporting an IMU through multiple phases of its its product lifecycle,including requirements development, design, integration, calibration,verification, environmental qualification, production, acceptance testing,and fielded-system support.
• Experiencedelivering qualified inertial-navigation hardware to a U.S. militaryservice, military aircraft prime contractor, or major avionics-systemintegrator.
• Experiencewith navigation-grade IMUs installed on fixed-wing manned militaryaircraft.
• Experiencecomparing RLG, FOG, MEMS, and other inertial-sensor technologies.
• Knowledgeof the military inertial-navigation supplier base, relevant technologies,and current product capabilities.
• Experiencewith contested, degraded, or GPS-denied navigation environments.
• Experiencewith Kalman filtering, sensor fusion, aided navigation, and blendednavigation architectures.
• Familiaritywith modeling and simulation tools such as MATLAB, Simulink, Python, orequivalent analytical environments.
• Familiaritywith military airworthiness, environmental qualification, configurationmanagement, obsolescence management, manufacturing, andproduction-acceptance requirements.
• Familiaritywith applicable military and aviation environmental,electromagnetic-compatibility, hardware- and software-development, andqualification standards, including MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, RTCA DO-160,RTCA DO-178C and RTCA DO-254.
• Experiencesupporting technical reviews, trade studies, design reviews,test-readiness reviews, system qualification, and flight-test programs.
• Master’sdegree in a relevant engineering or technical discipline.
• Currentor previously held U.S. government security clearance.

Desired Candidate Attributes

The ideal candidate combines deep inertial-navigationexpertise with practical experience developing, producing, integrating,qualifying, or delivering operational IMU hardware. This individual should becomfortable working at both the detailed sensor-performance level and thebroader integrated-navigation-system level.

The candidate should be capable of independently evaluatingIMU technologies and supplier solutions, identifying technical and programrisks, and translating complex engineering findings into clear recommendationsfor customers and program leadership.

Benefits Summary

Competitive salary with comprehensive health andwellness benefits

Dynamic and collaborative work environment

Employee ownership

Medical, dental, and vision care plans

Paid time-off and parental leave programs

Group term life insurance

Tuition Assistance, Training, and educationdevelopment offerings

Details

Location: Auburn, AL
Employment Type: Active
Salary: $175000 - $250000 /per annual
Skill Level: Mid-Senior Level